Trust
by bite-me-im-irish
Summary: My take on Aria and Ezra's conversation in the 3B promo.
1. Chapter 1

Don't own PLL, blah blah blah...

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**Where are you? – Ezra**

Aria stared at the text on her phone, trying to understand it. It was twelve thirty on a Monday, she was in school – he knew that. So why, then, was he asking her? Unless he meant where in Rosewood High was she. But why would he want to know that of all things? As she pondered her response to his strange text, another message came through, this time from Spencer.

**Just saw Fitz by your locker, everything okay?**

Aria's eyes widened and panic began to set in. Was he insane? What was so important that it couldn't be told to her over the phone or when she finished school for the day? She swiped her finger across the screen and flicked back into his message, telling him that she knew he was there and to meet her in the courtyard.

As she made her was to the small, concrete alcove in the centre of the school building, she prayed hat it wasn't going to be busy. She had a feeling that whatever was about to happen was something that she wouldn't want an audience for.

Ezra was already there by the time she arrived. He was pacing back and forth, clearly agitated. A few students looked up from their lunch as Aria made her way towards the former English teacher.

The second his eyes locked onto her, he stopped pacing and walked a few steps to meet her in the centre of the courtyard.

"What are you doing here?" Aria asked, cutting straight to the chase. "Is everything okay?" Ezra squared his jaw, causing nerves to erupt in Aria's stomach. He was mad.

"I was in Delaware today," he told her, "Maggie called me and said that she wanted to explain the deal she'd made with my Mom." As he spoke his eyes became more and more livid. Aria felt tears prick at the back of her eyes, suddenly hyper-aware of where this conversation was going. "How could you not tell me, Aria?"

"Maggie told you that I knew?" Aria asked, fighting back tears. She glanced around at the several groups of students watching them with interest. Although it was common knowledge that Aria was dating Ezra, it was rare that they were seen together in hugely public places. She shot the onlookers filthy looks but, being people of Rosewood, they continued to openly gawk.

"Malcolm recognised you when I showed him a picture of you," he spat. "But that doesn't matter. The point is that you knew about him and didn't tell me."

"Maggie asked me to give her time to figure things out. I was going – "

"Your loyalty doesn't lie with Maggie, Aria. _I'm_ your boyfriend," Ezra shouted. There was an outbreak of chattering around the couple and Ezra grabbed Aria's arm, leading her to a more secluded part of the courtyard. "Do you know how embarrassing it is to find out from _your _ex that your girlfriend has been lying to you for over a month, Aria?"

"Probably around the same as finding out that your boyfriend has been lying to you for over a year from _his brother_," Aria shot back, not letting herself become the only person a fault when none of this would have happened if he'd just been honest with her about his past in the first place.

"You know, I expect this from my mother and from Maggie," Ezra replied, ignoring her jibe at him, "But you are the person that I am supposed to be able to trust."

"And you don't think that I feel the exact same way?" Aria glared at him, furious that he was acting like she was the bad person here when Maggie had kept a son from him for seven years.

"There can't be a relationship without trust, Aria."

Aria blinked, her mouth falling open. But, before she could say anything, Ezra bypassed her and headed back inside, clearly under the impression that this discussion was over. Aria, however, had other ideas. She ran after him, her heels clacking on the concrete and linoleum. He was halfway down the empty corridor when she caught up with him.

A memory of her chasing after him on this same corridor after Homecoming a year ago sprang to Aria's mind. _'I could never hate you'._

"Do you not think that I wanted to tell you?" Aria called after him. Ezra stopped and turned around, looking at her in a way hat made her want to shrink into a puddle. "This is hard for me, too, Ezra."

"Oh, really?" Ezra asked, raising his voice again so that it echoed off the walls of the empty, school corridor. "Did you just find out that you have a son that your girlfriend knew about but didn't deem it necessary to tell you about?" He stalked towards her as he spoke, coming to a standstill about a foot in front of her.

"No, but I did just find out that my older boyfriend has a son that was born when I was still playing with Barbie dolls!" Aria realised she was shouting and lowered her voice. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you but don't act like you're the only victim here."

"What's all the shout – " The fuming pair looked to the side to see Mrs Welch poking her head out of her classroom door. "Ezra!" She said in surprise, "Aria! What's going on here?"

Ezra didn't reply, only turned on his heel and walked away. Aria ignored her, too, storming after Ezra as he tried to leave once again.

"Don't you walk away from me, we are _not_ done talking about this!" She yelled, grabbing his elbow.

The bell signalling the end of the period rang out and floods of students began to fill the hall. They were eerily quiet and Aria had a sneaking suspicion that they had all been listening from inside the classrooms – it was Rosewood after all.

"Do you not think that I am just as upset as you are?" She asked him, speaking in a hushed voice, speaking to his back. "This affects me, too, Ezra."

"Aria, for fuck's sake, stop trying to make this about you." Ezra turned around to face her and they stood mere inches apart, Ezra towering over the 5ft 2" girl. The hall, which was usually buzzing with talk and laughter, was silent as students and teachers alike listened to their argument. Out of the corner of her eye, Aria saw Spencer, Hanna and Emily looking on with sympathy on their faces.

Aria flinched at Ezra's cruel words but as much as they hurt her, they made her twice as angry.

"Me? I'm no trying to make this about anybody! But you're acting like I did this to spite you. All I'm asking is for you to understand that this isn't exactly easy for me either." Aria fought to her keep her voice down, despite the fact that there were several students within earshot, hanging on their every word. "I mean, for God's sake, Ezra, I'm only seventeen!"

"Yeah, like I could forget," Ezra muttered. Aria's palm collided with his cheek before she could stop it. Their audience gasped but Aria ignored them, she was passed furious – now she was pissed.

"Stop being so selfish!" She screamed at him.

"Oh, excuse me for being selfish for once! For fuck's sake, Aria, you'd think after all the baggage I've put up with that –"

Aria physically flinched and took a step back from him. Ezra had cut himself off, a horrified expression on his face.

"'B- baggage?'" Aria repeated, quietly, her voice shaking.

"Aria –" Ezra began, his voice softer now, but she cut him off.

"You think of me as baggage?" Tears filled her eyes as she clenched her hands into fists.

"No, I didn't mean – I was just –" Ezra struggled to form a sentence and the growing number of people around them waited. Suddenly, Aria wanted to give them a show.

"You know what? I can't deal with this," she said loudly, "How about I lighten the load?" Then two words she did not imagine ever saying to Ezra (of her own free will, that is), "We're over."

"Aria," Ezra said brokenly, "You don't mean that."

"No, I do," she replied, "Consider yourself relinquished of my burdens." She tore the necklace he'd gotten her for their anniversary off her neck, breaking the chain, and threw it at his chest. He caught it with one hand, still staring at her with lost eyes.

Aria pushed past him, heading towards her three best friends. She wanted to flee the scene before she broke down completely. She couldn't let Ezra see that.

"Aria, wait!" Ezra caught her arm as she walked by.

"Let go of me!" She snapped.

Ezra dropped grasp as if burned and Aria walked to her girls. They immediately formed a protective circle around her and together they pushed through the crowd and headed towards an empty classroom for privacy, leaving a broken man behind them.

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**Okay, Little Sparks is just not happening right now but bare with me. A lot has been going on - I even had surgery.**

**This was born today when I heard that argument play out in my head. I wrote it down, added some other words and stuff and ta-daa. **

**Let me know what you think, I may turn this into a 2/3 shot :)**

**-Katie **


	2. Chapter 2

**Well that was a mighty large amount of reviews for one chapter. I honestly did not expect that kind of response at all, so a HUGE thank you to all of you. **

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Ezra Fitz sat in his apartment staring at the mountain of food in front of him. Chicken satay, beef chow mein, fried wontons, sesame toast, egg fried rice, duck pancakes and egg rolls - it was enough to feed an army, and he was alone.

He'd called Rose of Sharon an hour ago, not thinking before agreeing with the girl on the phone when she asked if he wanted the usual. It wasn't until the delivery guy knocked on the door and handed him two huge bags of food that he had realised his mistake. And so he sat, on his big brown couch that now seemed entirely too big for him, staring at his and Aria's perfected Saturday night feast, with no appetite and a broken heart.

It had been five days since his and Aria's very ugly and very public breakup, and he could still hear his own words ringing in his ears. '_You'd think after all the baggage I've put up with that –' _If he could take back anything in his life it would be those words. He'd never seen her look so hurt, and the fact that it was because of his own words killed him.

He hadn't meant what he said, of course he hadn't. Aria was anything but baggage to him, he was just so angry that for a moment he _wanted _to hurt her. She was the one who made everything okay in his life, he need only look at her and he felt better. He loved her, he loved her more than he thought it was possible to love somebody, he loved her in a way that he couldn't describe.

Yes, he'd been angry with her, and yes, he meant it when he said that he needed to be able to trust her for their relationship to work, but that didn't mean that he wanted to break up with her. Just the thought of her being with somebody else, or even for himself to be with another women, made him feel ill. After less than a week without her, he could already barely function. He didn't know _how_ to live without her, proven by the rapidly cooling pile of cuisine on his coffee table.

He'd pushed her away at the time that he needed her most. Malcolm had come over for a visit the day before, just for a couple of house to test the waters before Maggie allowed him to come for longer visits, and the poor child had been bored out of his brain. He and Ezra had sat on the couch in silence as Ezra desperately tried to think of activities for them to do, but all he could think was that if Aria had been there then she would have known what to do and say. Aria was great with kids while Ezra knew nothing. The last time he'd been around children was when he babysat Jackie's niece, and even then he was barely able to keep her happy for the hour he had her.

He needed Aria's hand in his now more than ever, and she wouldn't return any of his calls or texts with pleas for her to talk to him. He was still upset with her, and he knew that they needed to have a long conversation about what Malcolm meant to their relationship, but he wanted her back – he _needed_ her back.

With a sigh, Ezra leant forward and picked up his chow mein. It was stone cold, understandably as it had been sitting on the table for little under half an hour. He stood up and placed it in the microwave, the beeps from the buttons too loud in his too empty apartment. He drummed his fingers against the counter as the numbers counted down, memories of Aria sitting on the counter with him in-between her legs, their lips fused in passionate kisses, running through his mind. _'Did you really play B-26 or were you just hitting on me?'_

A knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts. _Mrs Rosenthal,_ he thought, rolling his eyes.

He jogged to the door and pulled it open with a smile, a smile which vanished off of is face the moment he saw who was standing on the other side of the door.

"Sp-Spencer," he stuttered, "What are you doing here?" The questions tumbled from his lips before he could stop them, "Is Aria okay? Have you spoken to her? Has she been getting my messages? What-" Spencer held up her hand to silence him.

"Look, Fitz-" Ezra raised his eyebrows at Spencer's use of his surname, "I'm just here to get her stuff, not to converse with you. But let it be on record that I think you're an ass for what you said to her." Spencer picked up a duffle bag from beside her feet and pushed past a frozen Ezra.

'_I'm just here to get her stuff.' _She was taking her stuff back? His heart suddenly felt like it weighed a hundred stone. Even when they broke up because of Jackie, she had never taken her stuff back. He slowly closed the door and turned to face Spencer who was staring at the mountain of food he'd ordered.

"Expecting company?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ezra shook his head, "I forgot that Aria wasn't coming over and ordered her food." Spencer continued to look at him for a moment before beginning to move around his apartment. Ezra wasn't entirely comfortable with his former student poking around his things but he knew better than to try and stop her. Instead, he moved to his drawers and began to extract a few bits of Aria's clothing – leaving behind a few things that he wasn't ready to part with, specifically the top she left behind after they made love for the first time.

He handed the few items to Spencer and took a seat on his armchair, watching forlornly as she picked up bits of jewellery and make-up. Spencer continued to move around the apartment, bit-by-bit extracting the Arianess of it all, whilst Ezra just sat and watched, his heart breaking more with every relic Spencer stuffed inside the big black bag.

"Spencer?" He asked, making the tall girl look back at him from where she was picking books off his shelves and stop what she was doing. "Just tell me, please, is she okay?" Spencer looked at him for a moment, and Ezra felt like she was judging his sincerity, until finally she sighed and set down the duffel bag, coming to sit on the couch opposite him.

"I'd love to say that she's better off without you, because in my opinion right now she is, but the truth is that she's terrible, Ezra, you really hurt her," she said, her eyes showing no sympathy for him. "She always said how you were the one person in her life that she could be fully herself with and you ruined that, you made her feel… used."

Ezra let the tears that had welled up in his eyes fall, not caring that he was breaking down in front of his former student.

"But I didn't mean it," he implored, meeting Spencer in the eye. "I… I was just so angry."

"That doesn't matter, the point is that you said it," Spencer declared, "I'm sorry, but I have no sympathy for you. You did this yourself. All Aria wanted to do was make sure that nothing bad was going to happen to _your _son if she told you before Maggie did."

Ezra nodded, swallowing in an attempt to calm himself and dragged his palms down his face, wiping the tears away before continuing to watch Spencer pick up the last of Aria's things.

After about ten minutes, Spencer turned to face him, "Is that everything?"

Ezra nodded, staring blankly ahead.

Spencer headed towards the door and just as she was about to open it, Ezra stopped her.

"Wait," he said, "There's one more thing." He jogged over to his bed and opened the cabinet beside it, pulling out a long black velvet box. He walked over and handed it to Spencer who looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "It's the necklace I got her for our anniversary. I, eh, got it fixed in the jewellers after we… well, after the argument." He watched as Spencer placed it in her handbag and turned to leave. Once more, he stopped her. "Spencer?"

"Yes?" She asked, turning to face him again. "What is it this time, an engagement ring?" She snorted at her own joke but became serious when she saw Ezra's hurt expression. "Sorry."

"Could you just… tell her I miss her, and that I'm sorry?" He watched as Spencer studied his expression, before nodding and continuing down the hall without a word. He turned and entered his apartment, shutting the door behind him, alone once more.

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**As I'm sure some of you are aware, I have this thing against reading over my work before I upload so apologies for spelling mistakes etc. **

**Please review and let me know what you think, I'll try have more up by the weekend but I have an essay and Christmas exams over the next two weeks so no promises.**

**Oh, and to those of you who expressed concern about the surgery, it was only keyhole and my scars are thoroughly unimpressive so don't worry :P **

**-Katie**


	3. Chapter 3

**Better late than never... right? **

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School days passed slowly for Aria once the news of her and Ezra's split had made its way to every member of the Rosewood High, students and faculty alike. Teachers gave her disapproving looks in class, students whispered and jeered in the corridors – it was hell. She wasn't much happier at home, either. At least in school she had her friends to keep her mind off of things, but at home it became so much harder when she was left alone with the consequences of her actions.

Her heartbreak was all the more raw when she sat alone in her room, the bag full of the things Spencer had collected from Ezra's apartment mocking her from the floor. It was only the constant ringing of the word 'baggage' in her ears that kept her from pressing number one on her speed-dial and running back to him.

On the second Saturday after their breakup, Aria woke up sweaty and tangled in her sheets after another near-sleepless night. She glanced at her alarm clock, which read seven forty two am, two hours before she had set it to go off. She sighed and threw off her blankets, knowing that she'd never get back to sleep.

She padded to the bathroom, peeling off Ezra's t-shirt that she'd stolen a few months prior and hopping into a scalding shower. She pondered what she'd do with her day, now that she had a clear schedule for every Saturday. She didn't want to annoy the girls with her spaced-out, depressive mood so she'd decline their invitation to go to Philly for the day.

As she made her way back to her room, she decided that she'd have a day for herself. She rang up the nearest beautician and made an appointment for a mani-pedi. She figured she'd catch a movie after and then head out to a restaurant and buy herself dinner. She felt like she needed this, she didn't know who she was without Ezra but she knew that she needed to remember because, heartbroken as she was, she couldn't see herself ever forgiving him. _Baggage_.

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Aria wandered around the small cinema in Rosewood, waiting for the film currently playing in the only screen the small theatre had to let out. Her nails were impeccable and she'd treated herself to a facial, too, dipping into the money she'd saved up from working with Laurel. The only thing missing was somebody to show it all off to, but she tried not to think about that.

The movie was starting in thirty minutes so she just wandered aimlessly around the lobby, sidestepping the couples and groups of friends that were waiting like she was. Her friends always thought she was weird when she'd go see films by herself, but Aria found that only then could she truly let herself be absorbed by the characters and the plot. As she made her third round of the small, shabby lobby, the brightly coloured candy stand caught her eye and she pottered over to it, hoping that they would have a bag of toffee popcorn that she could get.

A sandy haired boy was at the counter when she got there, his small hands pressed up against the glass as she tried to decide which candy he wanted. She giggled at his enthusiasm, remembering how Mike used to be like that whenever she and him were taken to the movies. The little boy must have heard her giggle because he turned around and looked up at her.

The smile fell off of Aria's face and she gasped as she looked upon the familiar face of her ex-boyfriend's son, Malcolm. Her heart started racing as she realised that the only reason Malcolm would be on Rosewood Cinema was if he was here with his father. She needed to get out of there, she couldn't see him, not today, not while she could barely hold herself together at the mention of his name.

She spun around, intending the make the swiftest exit possible, when she walked smack bang into somebody's chest. She knew who it was before she moved back, she'd know his smell anywhere – it was the same smell that she had breathed in every night since their breakup when she slept in shirts she'd stolen from him.

Ezra took a step away from her and their shocked gazes met each other.

"Aria," he greeted, surprised, "Hey…"

"Ezra!" Aria replied, putting as much fake cheer into her voice as possible and smiling widely at him. She knew that he could see right through her, he always could, but she was glad when he didn't comment on it. "What are you, uh…?" She asked dumbly.

"We're going to see the movie," he replied, holding up the two tickets in his hand.

"Right," she said, "That makes sense." It was silent for a moment as they both shuffled awkwardly. Aria imagined another time, before Wesley and Maggie and Malcolm, when they would be going to the cinema together, not him and his son. They would share a packet of toffee popcorn and Ezra would buy himself Twizzlers, ignoring Aria's teases for him being such a child. They'd sit in the back and share a few stolen kisses and then go back to his apartment to finish what they'd started.

"How are you?" Ezra asked eventually, pulling Aria away from her dream-world.

"I'm great…" She lied, "Yeah, really… uh… great." She smiled again. Ezra raised his eyebrows, clearly not believing her for a second. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a small voice coming from somewhere around his hip.

"Daddy?" Malcolm asked, pulling on the end of Ezra's shirt. Malcolm's use of the word 'Daddy' both warmed and broke Aria's heart. She was glad that Ezra was bonding with his child but it was a stark reminder that they were over. _Baggage_.

"Yes, Malcolm?" Ezra asked, hunching down to Malcolm's level.

"Is this the girl from the picture you showed me? She looks like the girl Moma was talking to at school." Aria flinched, but Ezra smiled.

"Yeah, Malcolm, it is. This is Aria, my girl- my friend." Malcolm didn't seem to notice Ezra's slip, but Aria did and her heart throbbed with longing.

"Is she coming to see the movie with us, Daddy?" Malcolm asked, peeking up at Aria shyly.

"Uh, no, she's not… " Ezra answered him, shifting awkwardly. "Hey, why don't you go pick out which candy you want?" He pulled out five dollars and handed the note to the young boy who squealed in delight.

"Okay!"

"He seems to really like you," Aria commented, watching the small boy run back to the counter where she'd first seen him, the dollar bill clenched in his tiny fist.

"Aria…" Ezra said slowly.

"No, it's good. I'm glad you're happy." Aria watched as a tortured look appeared on Ezra's face.

"I was happy with you," he told her, taking a step closer to her. His blue eyes met Aria's hazel ones and she had to close her eyes to get away from the intensity of his gaze.

"Yeah, well…" she said, lamely, looking away from him, the word 'baggage' ringing in her ears again.

"I miss you," he said in a low, quiet voice, reaching for her arm. She shrugged out of his grasp. His hand remained suspended for a moment before he dropped it limply to his side.

"Ezra this really isn't the right-"

"No, let me say this," Ezra interrupted her, "I was a jerk and I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I'm a coward when it comes to our relationship and that I don't tell you things, I'm sorry that I overreact and say things that I shouldn't, I'm sorry that I always blame you and I'm sorry that I let you walk away from me at the school and that instead of fighting with every ounce of my strength to get you back I've been wallowing in my own self-pity. I love you, Aria. I want you back in my life, I _need_ you beside me because… because without you nothing works." Aria blinked away rapidly forming tears, fighting herself on what to do. Her heart was telling her to collapse into his arms an forgive him but her head was making the very strong argument that she was not ready to be a stepmother and that she was not willing to be anybody's _baggage_.

"Ezra, I don't know what to say… you… you really hurt me and I don't know if I can forget what you said," she said slowly, hating the broken look that had appeared on his face when she spoke.

"Don't say anything," Ezra told her, "Come over tonight. Maggie is picking Malcolm up at seven. I'll cook something that even I can't mess up and we'll talk. I want to make this right." Aria wasn't sure what 'right' was anymore. She was about to decline, listening to her brain for the first time since the start of their illicit relationship, when Malcolm reappeared at Ezra's side, a bag of Sour Patch Kids in his hands.

"Daddy the movie starts soon and I need to pee!" He whined, pulling at Ezra's shirt tails.

"Just a minute, Malcolm," Ezra said, not taking his eyes off of Aria. "Please, Aria," he begged.

"I…" Aria looked from Ezra's pleading eyes to Malcolm and back, torn completely about what to do.

"Please," Ezra repeated, taking Malcolm's hand as the small boy stood impatiently at his side. Aria closed her eyes and sighed.

"Okay. I'll be there at eight."

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**There will of course be one more chapter (maybe two). I've gotten into this story far more than I thought I would... Review please :) I want to hear what you think. I know there are quite a few of these stories floating around at the moment so let me know if it's boring etc. I'll try get more up before Christmas. I have one more final to study for but it's not until Friday so I might get the last chapter done soon. Thanks for all the support so far. **

**- Katie **


	4. Chapter 4

**I despise this chapter, just putting it out there.**

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Ezra Fitz was in a panic. The food was burnt, Rose of Sharon was closed for renovations, he couldn't find any of his menus, he's spilt his coffee all over his crisp white shirt and to top it all of, Maggie had called to say that she wouldn't be picking Maggie up until nine, meaning that his son would be there for a whole hour of his and Aria's dinner – if he could even call it that anymore.

He considered ringing Aria up and cancelling the evening altogether but decided against it, he needed to show Aria that Malcolm wasn't going to come between them and that they could still be a couple even if he was a father.

The little boy in question was sitting on the couch eating a bowl of Spaghetti-O's and watching the Simpsons, completely unaware of his father's dilemma. Ezra sighed and looked away from the little boy, pulling two packets of ramen down from his cupboard with a disappointed sigh, _so much for a romantic meal._ It was already quarter to eight and he knew that this was his only option unless he was prepared to serve a dinner of Coco Puffs. He placed his teapot on the stove to boil; _it was going to have to do_.

At four minutes past eight, there was a quiet knock on the door of apartment 3B. Malcolm ran to the door shouting, "I'll get it! I'll get it!" before Ezra could stop him and a moment later the door was flung open to reveal Aria's surprised face.

"Daddy, it's Aria!" He shouted before running back to the couch and his bowl of pasta, his attention glued to the cartoon once more.

"Thanks, little man," Ezra said to him as he made his way to the door where Aria was still standing, her eyes focused on the small boy. He watched her breathe in a deep breath before meeting his gaze.

"I thought we were supposed to talk," she said stiffly, disappointment flashing across her eyes, "_Alone._"

"We will," Ezra replied in a hushed voice, "Maggie got delayed but he'll be gone in an hour and then we can talk all you want. Just, come inside. Please." He watched her hesitate. "Aria, he's my son. I can't just make him vanish whenever it doesn't suit."

Much to his surprise and relief, Aria nodded and stepped inside the room. He knew he was being stupid, but he felt as if the room became brighter the second she set foot inside. She belonged there, he knew she did.

He watched as she dumped her bag and coat on his armchair and took a seat next to his small son, who looked up from his cartoon when she approached.

"So what are you watching?" She asked the young boy. Malcolm smiled at her and it warmed Ezra's heart, he wanted his son to like his girlfriend. He wondered if it was still okay for him to refer to Aria as his girlfriend when they'd been broken up for weeks.

"The Simpsons!" Malcolm told her, "Do you like the Simpsons, Aria?" Ezra watched as Aria smiled warmly at the small boy as he took a seat opposite them on his armchair, having moved Aria's stuff to his desk.

"I love them! Ralph is my favourite. Do you have a favourite, Malcolm?" The small boy nodded vigorously.

"I love Homer and Bart and Milhouse and Smithers and Apu and Grandpa," Malcolm declared. The two adults chuckled at his childish reply and then it was silent apart from the voice of Homer Simpson, _"Books are useless! I only ever read one book, 'To Kill A Mockingbird,' and it gave me absolutely no insight on how to kill mockingbirds! Sure it taught me not to judge a man by the color of his skin…but what good does that do me?"_

Ezra raised his eyebrows and looked at Aria who was smiling toothily back at him, having picked up on the irony also. He grinned back, happy to see a smile back on her face. Aria's smile soon vanished and she looked away as if she'd been caught doing something bold. Ezra sighed; they had a long way to go.

He stood up, grabbing Malcolm's empty bowl as he went, and headed to his kitchen area where two bowls of ramen with a few chopped carrots and some peas were sitting. It was all he could manage to find in his near-empty kitchen. He handed a bowel to Aria and sat back down in his seat.

Aria raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow at him, "Seriously? You made Ramen?"

"Daddy burnt your real dinner," Malcolm explained. "He said the f-word and threw it all in the bin." Ezra choked on his noodles at his son's memory. Aria laughed at them both.

"Malcolm!" Ezra scolded, "I thought we made a promise man-to-man that you wouldn't mention that?"

"You said I wasn't allowed to tell Mommy," Malcolm defended, turning back towards Aria, "You're not my Mommy." Aria stopped laughing and Ezra gulped, Malcolm had unknowingly hit a sore spot.

"No… I'm not." She looked down for a moment before recovering herself, "Which means, you can tell me _everything_ your Daddy says." She lifted her hand a high-fived the little boy who was giggling.

Ezra gasped in mock offence, "Turning on your old man and joining forces with a _girl_?" He cried, "Malcolm, I'm offended!"

"Sorry, Daddy," Malcolm shrugged, "But Aria's prettier than you." Aria and Ezra burst out laughing and Aria ruffled the boy's hair.

Ezra watched the two interact with a smile on his face, he'd been right when he said Aria was great with kids. She was a natural and full of maternal instincts. It made him wonder what their kids would look like, should she choose to forgive him. He knew that Aria wanted a big family and he'd be more than happy to provide her with one, he already had a big brother for their kids.

"Daddy can I play with your phone, please?" Malcolm asked, sweetly. Ezra sighed and handed over his iPhone, after only a few weeks of having Malcolm in his life, the small boy already had him wrapped around his little finger.

"Sure, buddy." He looked at Aria and caught her staring at him, probably thinking the same thing. He was powerless to say no when it came to her, too. "Do you want a drink?" he asked, standing up and clearing away the three bowls, "I have your favourite." Her favourite was sparkling water and elderflower.

"Sure, that'd be great," Aria replied, standing up as well. "I'm just going to use the bathroom."

"Daddy?" Malcolm asked once Aria had shut the door behind her, "Why is Aria your background on your phone if she's not your girlfriend anymore?" Ezra smiled at his son's question, for a seven year old he definitely picked up on details.

"Because I still love her very much," he replied honestly, opening the fridge door and preparing Aria's drink as well as a beer for himself.

Aria returned a moment later and the trio turned back on the Simpsons, content to sit in silence for another half an hour.

At nine fifteen, there was a knock at the door.

"Malcolm, get your stuff together, your Mom's here," Ezra instructed the now sleepy child as he stood up and headed to the door. Aria remained on the couch, her form stiff. Ezra wished he could just grab her hand and hold her close.

He pulled the door open and smiled at the familiar face of his ex-girlfriend before inviting her in.

"Aria, what a pleasant surprise," Maggie said with a smile, "Ezra didn't say you'd be here."

"It's nice to see you too, Maggie," Aria replied coolly, not looking at the mother in front of her but rather at her manicured nails. It was a very teenager thing for her to do but Ezra knew that Aria often acted like this when she was jealous. The fact that she was jealous at all gave him hope that he could salvage their relationship.

"MOMMYYYY!" Malcolm exclaimed, running to his mother and jumping in her arms.

"Hey, boo," Maggie cooed, hugging the boy close. "Did you have a nice time with your Daddy?"

Malcolm nodded vigorously, "We went to the cinema and Daddy let me buy the candy! And then he made dinner for Aria even though he told me she's not his girlfriend anymore." When the room went silent Malcolm whimpered, obviously aware that he had said something wrong. "Am I in trouble?" He asked.

"Of course not," Ezra answered him, handing over the small bag of things Malcolm had brought and tearing his gaze away from a visibly pale Aria, "I'll see you next week, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy."

"Bye, guys," Maggie said before turning on her heel and heading out the door with Malcolm in her arms. Ezra followed them over and shut the door. He paused before turning around, knowing that whatever was about to happen in apartment 3B would change his life for good.

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**One more :) Thank you for all the reviews!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I really wanted to get this up before the episode it's based off aired so I'm pretty happy right now... got it up with five minutes to spare :P **

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"You're a good Dad, Ezra," Aria said, once he'd re-joined her in the living area of his apartment. He took Malcolm's now-vacant side of the couch, leaving a small gap between their bodies. She looked up to see Ezra smile with pride, and gave him a small smile of her own. She dropped it a moment later. _Baggage._

Ezra's smile dropped as soon as hers did and he muttered "Thanks."

It was silent for a moment and Aria wondered when it was that they forgot how to speak to each other. Although she knew they still needed to talk about more important things, she decided she needed to do something to break the unnatural tension.

"I mean," she continued on from her previous sentence, "I had my doubts seeing as you can barely open a tin of Spaghetti-O's without ending up in A&E with a sliced up hand."

"Hey, that was _one_ time!" Ezra argued jokingly, and Aria noticed he began to trace the scar on the side of his hand. She rolled her eyes and shoved his shoulder playfully – was she still allowed to be playful with him?

"I mean it though, you're really good with him. You compliment each other."

"Thank you, Aria," Ezra said, sliding a bit closer to her on the big brown couch, "But I didn't ask you here to talk about my parenting skills."

Aria nodded slowly, knowing exactly why it was that Ezra had invited her over (and even more so why she'd agreed) but wanted him to say it, she needed him to say it because she could still hear the word _baggage_ echoing around in her head.

"Why did you ask me here?"

Ezra was quiet for a moment before his warm hands grabbed Aria's, forcing her to look up into his big blue eyes. _Baggage, baggage, baggage…_

"I want you back," he answered honestly, his eyes never leaving hers. Aria swallowed, tears prickling at the back of her eyes for reasons unknown. She honestly thought that hearing him say that would make it all easier, but it hadn't – it just made her sad because she didn't know how to get back to what they had once been, she didn't know how to pretend not to be hurt, not to feel used. She didn't know how to be his girlfriend anymore because all she felt like was _baggage._

"Ezra…" she began but trailed off, unsure of what she wanted to say to him. Could they still be friends? Could they slowly build up a relationship again? But then there's Malcolm. She couldn't be a stepmother at her age, she wasn't ready for her serious relationship to become even more adult because as much as she liked to consider herself to be an adult, she wasn't one, she was seventeen, she hadn't even had a legal drink yet. "Everything is so different now." She pulled her hands away and Ezra sighed, rubbing his hands together as if to warm the place where Aria's hands had been.

"I know, Aria," he agreed, nodding his head, "I know you're scared."

"I'm not-" Aria interrupted but Ezra gave her a look as if to say 'don't even try and pretend' and she went quiet.

"I understand that it's hard to wrap your head around everything, heck, I can't even get my head around it!" He smiled and moved closer once more, their knees were now brushing together. "But we can do it together, Aria. Please."

"We can do _what_ together, Ezra?" Aria snapped, "Raise a son?" Ezra sighed and looked down. "I'm sorry but I can't pretend like I'm okay with this when I'm not." Ezra nodded and moved further away. "And what you said…" She spoke softly, knowing that her hurt was almost palpable from her words. "The way you looked at me…"

"I'm so sorry for how I acted, Aria, I mean it. I wanted to take it back as soon as I said it. You're not baggage to me, you're my rock. I love you." Aria looked down at her hands, twisting her fingers into knots. She loved him, too, and that's why it hurt so much. "But I'm not gonna pretend either," he continued, "I don't understand how you could have kept something like that me or how you let Maggie cloud your judgement."

Aria looked up at her ex-boyfriend's face and answered honestly, "I was scared." Her voice was quieter than she'd meant it to be but she wanted him to believe her. If she walked out of this apartment tonight as a single woman, she wanted to at least have the knowledge that he forgave her.

"Of my reaction?" He asked.

"Yes," she said with a nod, "And for what it meant for Malcolm, what it meant for me, for us." Ezra nodded and Aria couldn't help but notice that he had slid closer to her once more. She moved closer to him. "Maggie practically blackmailed me into not telling you."

"You should have told me," Ezra said firmly, "But I understand what you're saying. I'm sorry I yelled at you before, especially infront of everybody."

"I'm sorry I slapped you," Aria giggled softly. Ezra let out a chuckle himself and rubbed his cheek.

"That was sore, I'll have you know," he joked, "How somebody so small can pack that much force, I'll never know." They laughed again but the mood soon returned to the serious one it had been before.

"I _am_ sorry, Ezra," Aria repeated, referring to the information she had withheld from him, "I should have found a way to tell you."

"I forgive you," Ezra said, placing a hand on her knee. Sparks flew up Aria's body at the simple touch and she was suddenly trying very hard to remember why it was she wanted to stay away from him. _Baggage_. Oh, yeah. "Can you forgive me?" Ezra asked quietly. Aria's eyes snapped up to his, her heart telling her one thing and her head telling her another. His blue eyes held so much emotion as she started into them, but there was one emotion more clear than any other, and it was love. He loved her, she knew he did. "_Please_."

And suddenly, the ringing stopped. All she could hear was him breathing, all she could feel was his breath on her face. She knew she wasn't baggage to him; he loved her just as she loved him. They were meant to be together, they were _Aria and Ezra_, they defied odds and social norms, they loved each other fiercely and irrevocably, and nothing could tear them apart – not Jackie, not her father, and certainly not a seven-year-old boy.

She released a breath she didn't know she was holding and nodded, tears escaping her eyes and dragging mascara down her cheeks.

"Yes," she cried, "Yes, I forgive you."

Ezra let out an exalted laugh before grabbing her face in his hands and pressing his lips to hers in a passionate kiss. It was salty with Aria's tears but it didn't matter. Aria wrapped her arms around his neck, allowing him to pick her up and carry her towards his bed.

They knew that they still had along way to go but they were sure they'd get there together.

_Fin._

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**As per usual, I have NOT read over this so I apologise for any mistakes.**

**Please review :) I might (MAYBE) do another chapter as an M rated alternative ending. But, let's face it, you'll probably be waiting a while so don't get your hopes up. :P**

**-K **


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